"Strict Action Against Unauthorized Use" LG Electronics Wins Patent Lawsuit Against China's TCL

Lawsuit Prohibiting Infringement of LTE Standard Patents

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] LG Electronics won a lawsuit against China's leading home appliance company TCL, filed to prohibit LTE patent infringement, after one year and four months.

According to related industries on the 9th, on the 2nd (local time), the Mannheim District Court in Germany ruled in favor of LG Electronics in the lawsuit filed in November 2019 against TCL for infringement of 'LTE standard patents.'

This pertains to one of the three patent infringement prohibition lawsuits LG Electronics filed at that time, with the remaining two trials scheduled for March and May respectively. The patented technology infringed by TCL relates to control methods to minimize transmission packet loss in terminals.

The core of this lawsuit is that some technologies applied to feature phones and smartphones sold by TCL infringed on LTE standard patents owned by LG Electronics. Standard patents are essential technology patents that must be used to implement specific functions in related products.

Based on this ruling, LG Electronics plans to prevent TCL from selling mobile phones applying LG Electronics' LTE communication standard patents in Germany.

LG Electronics holds various standard patents in the mobile communication field through continuous research and development. According to the US patent analysis firm TechIPM, LG Electronics ranked first worldwide for five consecutive years from 2012 to 2016 in the 4G (LTE·LTE-A) standard patent category. According to the German patent research firm IPlytics, as of the end of February, LG Electronics is the world's third-largest company holding about 3,700 5G standard patents.

Cho Hwi-jae, Executive Director of LG Electronics Patent Center, emphasized, "Patents are the fruit of continuous technological innovation and the source of competitiveness in next-generation businesses," adding, "We will continue to strictly respond to unauthorized use without appropriate compensation corresponding to the company's patent value."